The City of Redwood City periodically conducts a Neighborhood
Survey as a means for the community to provide valuable feedback about
satisfaction with City services, quality of life, community issues, communcation, and other information. This helps the City to better understand the community's interests, concerns, and needs. The City also uses the survey results to help develop objectives
for budget purposes as well as continuous improvement
plans.

The City conducted its 5th Neighborhood Satisfaction Survey in July 2015! The survey is now closed to responses. Results will be presented at the August 24, 2015 City Council meeting.

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Our most recent survey was conducted in November of 2010, and reported to the City Council in January of 2011. Below are just a few of the highlights, but be sure to also see:

Complete Report(includes the "cross-tabulations" which let you see how the various demographic groups or areas of the City answered the questions)

If you'd like to see the survey consultant's presentation of the survey results, you can go to the City Council meeting page, scroll down to the January 24, 2011 meeting, and click on the video link for that meeting.

Quality of life and sense of community:

More than 9 out of 10 residents surveyed reported that they are either “very satisfied” (60%) or “somewhat satisfied” (33%) with the quality of life in Redwood City. And, about 3 out of 4 residents are optimistic about their quality of life looking ahead to the next five years. This result is notable, given the current economic climate and the necessity for reduced City services due to budget constraints.

A total of 62% of residents reported a "very strong" (26%) or "somewhat strong" (36%) sense of community in Redwood City.

City services

More than 4 out of 5 residents are satisfied with City services, with 36% reporting "very satisfied" and 49% reporting "somewhat satisfied." The top five City services mentioned included fire services, attracting people to the downtown. graffiti removal, providing youth/teen programs, and keeping the city clean.

City services receiving lower satisfaction included availability of affordable housing, maintenance of City streets, Neighborhood code enforcement, and sidewalk maintenance - although all were still in the "somewhat satisfied" category.

Public safety:

73% of residents feel either “very safe” (34%) or “reasonably safe” (39%) walking alone in the downtown areas of Redwood City after dark.

82% of residents reported that they feel “very safe” (43%) or “reasonably safe” (39%) walking alone in their neighborhood after dark.

Residents who reported feeling "somewhat unsafe" or "very unsafe" either in their neighborhood or downtown after dark most frequently mentioned gangs or other crime (39%) and "people or groups loitering" (17%) as the reason why.

Important issues facing Redwood City:

Approximately 15% of respondents did not have an opinion on this question, a pattern which is often seen in cities with a high satisfication level. The top five issues were:

Residents who rated parks as "fair" or below most often mentioned issues related to quality and maintenance (41%) and personal safety issues (13%) as the reasons why.

70% of residents said their household had used a library or library services in the last year. And overall, 84% rated Redwood City's library as "excellent" (52%) or "good" (32%).

Downtown events:

A remarkable 70% of residents indicated that their household had attended a downtown event in the past year, such as a Friday night concert, Movies on the Square, or other events.

Those who have attended a downtown event also showed a higher sense of community than those who have not.

Communications and Internet:

When asked their preferred source of information about City services and activities, residents most often mentioned the City's website (16%) and the City's email notices (12%).

Then, when asked how they would prefer to receive information from the City, residents mentioned the City newsletter (hard copy or electronic - 45%) and City email (30%).

Overall, 8 out of 10 residents reported they use the Internet once a day or more.

The sample of 400 Redwood City residents produced a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percent. This level of precision is standard for resident surveys, and many cities that have larger populations than Redwood City also use a sample of 400 residents. This sample size has been proven and accepted as scientifically valid for representing the population at large. Further, the demographics of the sample of residents does reflect the actual demographics of Redwood City.